Mennonite Community Cookbook: 65th Anniversary Edition

When Jamey and I were first married we were lucky enough to rent an apartment that was furnished. The previous renters were leaving the country to do missions and asked if we wouldn't mind living with their furniture so they wouldn't have to store it while they were away.  We were so happy to oblige as we had no money and Jamey still had a semester of school to finish up.

In the meantime, we kept our eyes and ears open in hopes of snatching up unwanted furniture of family and friends so when the previous renters returned we'd have something to sit on.  My grandfather's cousins were moving into an assisted living facility and had a couch, a dining room table and chairs, and a matching hutch to sell.  We had to borrow the money from my grandfather to buy it (we paid him back shortly thereafter).  His cousins graciously included in our purchase a set of beautiful china and their lovingly used copy of The Mennonite Community Cookbook by Mary Emma Showalter.

 

peppernuts

Years later, this is the cookbook where I would find the recipe for making grape pie and food for a barn raising.  It became a treasured part of my cookbook collection.  When I was recently asked if I would help spread the word about its anniversary, I was honored.

The Mennonite Community Cookbook is celebrating its 65th anniversary with an updated edition. They added spiral binding, a glossy (easy to clean) cover, and photographs which were nonexistent in the original edition.

shoofly pie

They've also updated some of the directions.  "A dab of cinnamon" and "ten glubs of molasses" have been replaced with measurements that can...well...actually be measured.  The cookbook still retains all it's original recipes and charm.  Each recipe names the submitter(s) and where they came from (similar to a church cookbook) and has plenty of character. Reading these recipes reminds me of reading my grandmothers' recipe cards (prior to the age of meticulous editing of grammar and formatting). These recipes were and are the heart and soul of many, many a kitchen.

Zwieback

Last month, I asked you to tell me what foods/recipes you consider Mennonite and many of you responded.  I wanted to show you that if you want to create the recipes you lovingly remember, they can be found in this cookbook. If you're so inspired, you can purchase the cookbook here or find it on Amazon (if you have swagbucks to spend). Pin It

Honey and its Many {Natural} Forms

When you delve into the world of beekeeping, you learn a whole lot about bees.  You also learn a lot about honey.  Not only are there different kinds of honey (based on where the nectar comes from- which affects taste and color), the honey itself takes on different forms.

The kind I was most familiar with was the kind I grew up squeezing out of a plastic honey bear bottle.  You know, the kind with the tiny black lid that is forever sticky to the touch.  That is honey in its liquid form.  But why would it sometimes crystallize and need to be microwaved (eek- plastic in the microwave!) to make it runny again?

Well, there are two sugars that make up honey- glucose and fructose.  Depending on the type of flowers the nectar comes from, the ratio between the two sugars are different.  Some ratios allow the honey to remain liquid, a different ratio causes it to later crystallize (becoming grainy and sometimes hard) and yet another makes it creamy and spreadable almost like peanut butter.

Of the honey we're harvested so far on our short beekeeping journey, we've mostly seen our honey turn creamy but some has stayed liquid and we love both forms.  The liquid kind is perfect for drizzling over cereal, yogurt or into coffee. The creamier spreads beautifully on warm rolls (and doesn't run off the side).  We don't do anything to our honey to make it either or- it's the sugars that dictate its form.

The one thing I was lamenting about was the best way to store the liquid honey so it would be easy to use.  I didn't want a plastic bottle.  Even a glass honey bear would require some sort of cap that would inevitably get sticky and attract all sorts of ants (which are already in my kitchen, grrr).  So I went online and found this honey dispenser:

It can be used for honey or maple syrup, works beautifully and is inexpensive).  To fill, we take off the (fake) silver lid which is attached to a plunger that stops up a hole in the bottom.  Setting the top bowl on a plate (to stop up the hole now that the plunger is out) and using a funnel, we fill it with liquid honey. Then we screw the top back on, engaging the plunger and set it in it's glass stand. When we're ready to use it, we simply hold it over our food or drink, squeeze the handle and honey runs smoothly out the bottom. When we release the handle, the plunger reengages and stops the flow.  It usually drips once and then we put it back in its stand.  It makes a nice tight seal so no curious ants can find any sticky sweet excuse to raid my kitchen which makes me one happy woman.

comb in liquid honey on left, creamy on right

We store creamy honey in pint jars in the fridge.  It maintains its creaminess there and is out of reach of ants since that lid does get a bit sticky.

creamy honey

Another form of honey which I've mentioned before, is comb honey.  It's actual sections of honeycomb.  It's often stored in liquid honey but sometimes it's sold in trays.  It's best eaten (in our opinion) spread on warm toast or a bagel so that the wax comb melts into the bread and can be eaten right along with the bread and honey.

Some people heat and whip their honey to break down the crystals and make it creamy.  We have bought this kind in the past and loved it.  When some of our honey took on this form on its own, we were thrilled.

What's your favorite kind/type of honey?

P.S.  Our bees seem to like their new homes and are busy pollinating our pears, peaches and strawberries! Pin It

Banana Pudding Dessert

It took me several tries to get this dessert just how I wanted it.  It was totally worth the effort.

I've also halved the recipe and served the dessert in individual cups for a smaller group.

Banana Pudding Dessert
serves 12 or more

Prepare the day before serving.  This recipe makes a heaping 9 x 13 pan of dessert.  If you'd prefer to use a lid, leave out a layer and make a tiny version in another bowl. The orange yolks of our chickens' eggs give the pudding added color.  I tried leaving the cookies whole but didn't like it as much as crushing them. Somewhere between whole and crumbs is nice, too.

2 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp. salt
9 cups milk (we use whole milk)
9 eggs, beaten well
3 tbsp. vanilla
12 bananas, sliced
1 (11oz.) box Nilla wafer cookies, crushed

In a large saucepan, mix the sugar, flour and salt well with a whisk.  Slowly whisk in the milk and cook over medium high heat, whisking constantly until it becomes bubbly and starts to thicken slightly.  This takes a little while- be patient:-).  Once it begins to bubble, turn the heat down to medium low and continue stirring and cooking for two minutes.

Have the well beaten eggs at the ready in a separate bowl.  Rushing this next step will give you lumpy pudding- it will still taste good but it won't have a smooth texture.  VERY slowly and while whisking the eggs, add a cup of the hot milk mixture to the eggs, beating them well as you do so.  VERY slowly, add another cup in the same way.  Next, add the egg mixture to the larger pot VERY slowly while whisking the milk mixture vigorously.  Cook the pudding for another two minutes over medium heat while stirring. Remove the pudding from the heat and stir in the vanilla.  At this point, you can assemble the dessert or allow the pudding to cool for awhile and then assemble it.  Either way works fine.

To assemble the dessert, layer about 1/4 of the pudding mixture into an ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan. Top with four sliced bananas and 1/4 of the cookie crumbs.  Repeat these layers, ending with a layer of pudding topped with the last of the cookie crumbs.  Allow to cool on counter then cover and refrigerate to set (overnight is best).

Enjoy! Pin It

Honey Bee Packages

After the disappointing realization that all five of our colonies were dead, we were pretty discouraged about bees.  But after the initial shock of our (but mostly their) loss, we couldn't help but begin planning for more.  Honey bees are so fascinating and beekeeping such an incredibly rewarding hobby.  It's worth the risk to try again.

We were able to order two packages of bees from a semi-local bee supply company.  They order packages from further south and distribute them in our neck of the woods.  The one downside to this is that these packages contain queens are southern queens and aren't acclimated to our climate. Because of this, we are hoping to re-queen some of our divides this year with local queen-lines who have successfully over-wintered here.

Last week, Jamey and Miriam went and picked up our bees- two packages with about 20,000 female honey bees in each package along with a queen (in a queen cage) and a can of feed (sugar syrup) for nourishment.  The bees in the packages don't know the queens housed with them.  These are young queens reared by beekeepers for this purpose.  The rest of the bees were transferred into the package from another hive.  The queen is caged to protect her- those bees don't know her and might try to "ball" or kill her once initially exposed to her...hence the cage of protection.

sugar syrup pre-made and ready at a ratio of 1:1, sugar and water 

We decided to install one of the packages into a new Langstroth hive that Jamey built and the other into one of our top bar hives.  One advantage to packages is that there are no frames to deal with so they can be easily transferred into your choice of hive.  One downside is that they don't have frames of brood with them which may make them feel more invested and at home in a new hive if they have their frames installed with them.  Here's to hoping ours still like their new homes and don't take off looking for their old one.

To unpack a package, the first step is to remove the small cover on top (see right package below versus the left).  This reveals two things- the top of the can of sugar syrup and the strap that attaches to the queen cage (what Jamey is holding in his left hand).

Lifting out the feeding can is next.  Then, he pulls up the queen cage using the strap.  It's helpful to quickly place the cover over the hole so all the bees stay put (for now).

Below is the queen in her cage.  She didn't have access to the food but worker bees are used to feeding queens so they would have taken care of her en route.  The next step is to remove the small cork disk at the top of the queen cage.  Removing the cork reveals a candy plug.  Once the bees are all snug in their new hive, the bees will chew through the candy, releasing the queen.  By the time she's free, they will have acclimated to her scent and (hopefully) adopt her as queen.  The cage is then placed within the comb so as not to disturb hive traffic.  We used existing combs leftover from our hives from last year.  Bees can also build their own if there are none available.

Next came the "exciting" part.  Jamey had let me wear the jacket (I was so excited to be out with the bees again) but as he began working with them, a couple got agitated enough and stung him, despite the sugar syrup spray (which is supposed to keep them busy licking syrup off their wings and keeping them from flying).  I quickly gave him the jacket, stepped back and used zoom.

Below, he's turning the package upside down so the bees fall down into the hive where the queen is waiting.  This can take a little while and requires tapping and shaking the box hard to dislodge the bees.

After most of the bees are inside, the last few frames are put back in.  This year, we're trying a top feeder for our Langstroth hive.  In the second photo below, you can see the shallow unpainted box set on top of the bottom box.  This is the feeder.  Sugar syrup can be poured directly into the tray, giving the bees access to it from below.  A cover fits on top and the roof of the hive goes on over that.

He then repeated the same steps and installed the other package in one of our top bar hives.  In these hives, we use jar feeders.  Because there isn't a lot blooming yet and the bees need lots of energy to build up their small starter colonies, AND since we're hoping to divide them sometime this summer, we want to give them a good head start.

When most of the bees are out of the packages, they are set in front of the hive entrance.  Bees in the hive will come out and fan the queen's scent out of the hive so that lost bees can follow her scent and find their new home.  Didn't I tell you that honey bees are fascinating?

Later that afternoon, the package was all but empty and the bees had already started foraging.  They very quickly found the water source I set out for them, too, just out of reach of the chickens who would have jumped into it and knocked it over (knowledge from experience).

In a few days, we'll look into the hives and make sure the queen has been released and all is well.  It's so nice to see activity at our hives again.  It just didn't quite feel quite the same without them. Pin It

Preparing for Pigs

Well, we enjoy the pork so much that we decided to raise another pig.  This time, we plan on raising it at our house along with a pig for our neighbors (who raised ours at their house last year) and one or two more while we're at it (to sell).  To raise pigs, you need a pen.  And if you want to pasture your pigs, you need a pasture or, in our case, a very large pen.

We've been working on this project for weeks now- rerouting fencing, installing sturdier gates, protecting the neighbor's fence with stacked firewood, cleaning out the barn (the pigs' access to shelter), transplanting displaced red raspberries, and so on.

The kids helped me clean out the horse stall side of our larger barn.  We use the feeding troughs as recycling bins between trips to the recycling center. Two stalls will get a nice bedding of straw and leaves for the piggies to root around in (and random pieces of plywood will be put away).  They'll also have access to this-all the way back to the farthest tree line...

...a very large corner of our yard.  In fact, they will even have the run of our unfenced garden where we usually plant corn, potatoes and green beans.  Their yard will also cover a couple rows of our red raspberries.  This called for a little rearranging.

New red raspberry canes were transplanted at one end of our sunflower patch.  The unfenced garden has been moved up beside our house (the opposite side of the sunflower patch). Between the pig yard and the new garden, we are drastically reducing the amount of yard that needs mowing.  That right there is enough to cheer about.

We're hoping to get our pigs in the next few weeks.  In the meantime, there is a bit of fencing to finish, old posts to take down, more wood to stack, and a few more things to be cleared from their yard.  If our fencing proves insufficient, we'll buy some electric as needed.

I have really enjoyed getting outside already this spring.  Our strawberries are weeded, raspberries pruned and mulched, and flower beds cleared of debris.  Now, if only those asparagus would peek their little heads up it will really feel like spring.

For those of you who have raised pigs, do you have any advice for us?  We'd sure appreciate it!

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Post-Placement

Well, it's been a month since we've last seen our foster child.  He came to us at nine months of age and returned home seven months later after he'd learned to talk, walk, and feed himself with a spoon. For his first month back home, we provided childcare about three days a week.  At that point their childcare needs resolved and they no longer needed us to watch him.  We promised we'd stay in touch and that we'd see each other often.

It's been a month since we've seen him.  This isn't at all abnormal.  Many foster families lose touch when the child returns home.  It's not what I necessarily expected in our case, though.

His initial return home was hard (pre-childcare) but saying goodbye that night a month later without anything scheduled on the calendar was harder.  Even with the promise of staying in touch, I knew it could be the last time we would see him.

Those first couple weeks were difficult.  I didn't walk around bawling my eyes out but only occasionally shed a tear or two.  I did feel very unsettled, though.  As if something was off kilter.  It was.  I felt all my normal emotions with a little more intensity.  I felt myself "space out" occasionally as my mind wandered or as I had to remind myself that we might not be seeing him anymore.  I packed up a lot of the baby/toddler things we had out for him (that are ours).  I washed his sheets, reorganized the nursery and sometimes found myself just sitting in the nursery chair...just sitting and remembering all the many bottles I fed him there while he laid in my arms, looked into my eyes and fingered my earrings, {almost} always gently and carefully.

It was all I could do not to pick up the phone and call his mother.  But I realized that if I did it would only be for selfish reasons.  *I* wanted to know how he was doing for peace of mind.  *I* wanted to see him again so that I could catch his expression when he first caught a glimpse of me- that expression of attachment, joy and love.  As much as I know his attachment needs to be transferred to his birth family, it stings to know that as their attachment strengthens, mine and his weakens and will eventually disappear.

What we had hoped for him and his family came true.  They worked hard, made every appointment, and did everything asked of them.  He was reunited with his family and they are doing well.  They no longer need us.  We have done our job.

But still.  We miss him.

I totally understand why they may not be contacting us.  As well as we did get along, I get it why they might need to put all this behind them.  For them, we are a giant reminder of all that happened. They are trying for a fresh start.  We are part of the old hurt.  I cannot force myself into that new start to fulfill my own needs.

Two pictures of him that his mother framed and gave to me sit on my counter.  It's the small counter right beside the fridge where I keep my calendar, to-do lists, and file folders of the kid's activity papers.  I'm at that counter often and therefore I catch glimpses of him often.  I'm glad he's with his family because when at all (safely) possible that is where children belong.

But still.  We miss him.

It's getting better.  The freedoms that come without having a toddler in tow are enjoyable.  I can work outside for hours at a time- something nowhere near possible with a curious toddler about.  I don't have to buckle anyone into the van when we go somewhere- I just hop in my seat.  The kids can romp and laugh and play upstairs at night without risking that he'll be woken up.  I don't have to cut up anyone's food into minuscule pieces and it doesn't matter if legos end up downstairs.  There are way less interruptions during school, we can stay out in the evenings past 7 pm and there are no more gates to hurdle.

Our kids are incredibly resilient.  They loved him dearly, played with him constantly, and helped take care of him.  Not one of them has shed a tear.  I'm not sure what to make of this other than to hope that it was our regular reminders about his stay being temporary and prayers offered up for his family and their reunification.  The fact that his leaving went so smoothly for them is encouraging and a wonderful blessing- for us and for them.

But still.  We miss him.

It's possible they will still make contact with us at some point.  I might write a short letter and pass it through the social worker.  We think and talk about our next placement.  The day I wrote this, we were asked about another toddler who needs a foster home but we're just not ready yet.  But as time passes, we can tell that one day we will be ready.  We've been praying for that next child and their family. God's hand was in our first placement and we trust it will be in our second, too.

But still.  We miss him.

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